STRUGGLING TORRES MAY START ON THE BENCH FOR SEMIFINAL MATCH

in World Cup by Itai — July 5, 2010 at 5:12 am | 3 comments

Rumor has it that Spain national team coach Vicente del Bosque is thinking about benching forward Fernando Torres for Wednesday’s semifinal match against the Germans.

Torres is yet to find the back of the net in Spain’s first five World Cup games, and hasn’t posed much of a threat offensively.

“He remains a focal point for us,” del Bosque said on Sunday. “To be on a [scoreless] streak or not, he offers hard work and personality and he’ll be our striker. Saying that doesn’t mean he’s an untouchable starter, but we have full confidence in him.”

Torres arrived in South Africa for the World Cup during his recovery process from a knee surgery in April.  If you follow Torres, then you know it always takes him a several games to get back to his normal form.  Unfortunately, Spain needs him in top form effective immediately.

Del Bosque has been known to tinker with lineups in the past.  During the Spain vs. Paraguay quarterfinal match, Torres was replaced by Cesc Fabregas after 56 minutes, and striker Pedro moved up top… and let’s be honest, the offense picked up a notch with Fabregas on the pitch.

Folks, don’t be surprised if you see Fabregas get the nod against Germany on Wednesday as part of a five-man midfield behind the sensational David Villa.

Source, Image Source

Tags: featured